In case you're wondering where her shoulders are, I purposely left them out. I wanted it to look more like a bust type of figure head. As for Lara, I deliberately made an outline around her. If you're also wondering about the look and color of her guns, technically she's holding up two - one in each hand, but at more or less the same height and angle, so you see the top of one (the darker one) and the lighter one in front. I mucked about with the hand so much, that I won't muck round on it any further before my pencil goes through the paper. Anyway, hope you like it.

Thank you! There are so many gorgeous photos of her, I had a hard time choosing. But her gaze looked very intense in this one, and her hair was so elegant, I thought it'd make a nice contrast to the strong Lara. I'm so happy to hear that you like this one.

Amazing! You really have a gift for the eyes, you know? In every portrait, they just leap out and snag the viewer, making it impossible for us to look anywhere else... Gorgeous! I love the composition of this--and the profile looks wonderful too! I have a dreadful time with hands, myself, so can completely sympathize about that part (and for what it's worth, I think her hand looks really good! )--and guns? Don't even get me started! lol! Very cool character piece here!

Awww thank you! I'm hearing that quite a bit these days. I just love drawing eyes. If this one "snagged" you, then I accomplished my goal. I also like the composition of a collage piece. I think it's something I'd like to try more of in the future. Of course, they can't beat your awesome backgrounds that actually "tell a story". Thank you!

Hee! Backgrounds are something that work for illustrations like I try to do--for portraits, they're really sort of optional (or can be something simple like varied tones)--not really NECESSARY for the piece (particularly for some of the ones in your gallery, where the focus needs to be on the features and not on extraneous things). And you are the Goddess of eyes, I think--they're always so deep, so realistic...mesmerizing...fantastic!

I agree with you 100%. There's a balance that needs to be considered when thinking about putting in a background. Some people try to cram too much into a drawing that it's distracting. I on the other hand leave them out completely because I'm too timid to tackle anything. That's a goal I've set for this year. To try and make baby steps in that direction of putting in small details into a background to bring a drawing to life. Now that I have eyes down pretty well, why not, eh?

"Baby steps" in any new method or technique are always the way to go, methinks: it gives us time to "play" with the new things and see where we can take them. It'll be fun to watch your "baby steps" there!

"You're like a walking, talking thesaurus, you that right?"

First time I've heard that--but it's nice to know all the time I put into learning vocabularly is not for naught!

I'm still trying to get a grip on drawing hair. One day, I'll nail it! Funny you mention the skin because I always try to get a not-so-smooth- look to it. Maybe it's the paper you use, I don't know. I just know that for me, paper plays a major part in getting the skin to look right. And I don't think any of the portraits you've drawn has skin like shrek!

Ahhh, Winsor and Newton is a really good brand! I'm willing to try out a few different papers and textures to see what else is out there. Right now, I'm just looking for something a bit thicker and more sturdy than my paper.

So how's it feel moving into the realm of two figure drawings? Fantastic work, Michelle. I love the attention to detail in the hair and eyes (they are piercing!) and the way you wanted the head shot of her to look like a bust by leaving out the shoulders.Great work!

You had to ask, didn't you?! Honestly, you must have a ton of patience and a lot of confidence in your skill. I was constantly worried that the small figure would get messed up and ruin all the time and effort I had put into the large portrait. I most certainly enjoyed the challenge, and would like to do it again, but I will definitely need to have more patience and confidence when shading them in.

Thank you so much for the lovely compliment! I'm really glad to hear that you like the drawing, especially the hair and eyes.

Of couse I had to ask! I know that feeling. The smaller figures always take the longest and completely drain my patience. On rare occassions, I'll get emersed in the drawing and, before I know it, it's almost done...if I'm lucky It turned out great and it's nice to hear you'd like to draw something like this again. You've drawn quite a lot in the past while, haven't you?

Luckily for me, the smaller figure didn't take as long as I thought it might. Then again there's not much detail to put in that one (unlike your Samurai or 300 drawings. All that armor would have killed me). But I notice the nice effect that such a drawing has, overall. It was a fun experience to try drawing more than one subject. Now, I'm dying to see your Angelina commission!

You've drawn quite a lot in the past while, haven't you?

Ha! I don;t know why, but I've been on a roll for a little while. Trying to keep up with the rest of you lot.